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Shockingly, those asked believed that a fire door that was propped open with a wedge or a fire extinguisher was safe, and 15% believed that keeping a fire door closed stops it performing, highlighting a lack of understanding around the role fire doors play in the event of a fire. What’s more, only 19% of those responsible for the specification, installation and maintenance of fire doors inspect their fire doors twice a year, 14% inspect annually, while 3% only inspect their fire doors when an issue has be

Residents’ management companies are being urged to ensure fire risk assessments are carried out at their apartment blocks in a wake-up call as new regulations come into force. An expert at property management firm Scanlans warned the clock is ticking for management companies at buildings which are over 18 metres in height or at least seven floors. A deadline of Saturday, September 30 has been set for them to ensure that up-to-date information about buildings in this category is registered on a new central

Property management companies have the power to assist their clients in preventing the unwelcome discovery of Japanese knotweed on their newly built homes. This is what happens on new build sites:  Japanese knotweed can be found on many construction sites planned for housing development The knotweed rhizomes (roots) can remain viable (but not visible) underground for many years If even a fragment of rhizome is disturbed during construction work it will rapidly spread If ignored the new shoots will ap

Emma McCarthy has been promoted to the position of Managing Director of retirement property management specialist Churchill Estates Management (CEM) from her previous role of Commercial Director. An independent arm of the Churchill Retirement Group, CEM manages over 200 developments across the country, providing management services to over 10,000 retired people daily. As the daughter of Churchill’s Co-Founder Clinton McCarthy, Emma is the third generation of McCarthys to take a senior leadership role in t

Experts at accountants and business advisers Whitley Stimpson are urging businesses to update their payroll systems in a bid to avoid penalty charges from HMRC. Latest figures have revealed that over the last three years HMRC has slapped fines of more than £75m on UK firms who are repeatedly failing to meet their payroll requirements. Many businesses are missing deadlines or making mistakes including misclassifying employees, using the wrong tax code, miscalculating pay, or incorrectly calculating auto-en

Irwin Mitchell is investing in a Scotland-based law firm Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie with the two firms working in collaboration to provide a full suite of legal and financial services operating out of more than 20 locations across England, Scotland, and Wales.* The firms have complementary skills north of the border with Irwin Mitchell Scotland operating out of Glasgow predominantly in banking and finance,  complex personal injury work and some residential property work, while Wright, Johnston & Mackenz

In a private rented sector (PRS) block, parcels can cause chaos. Without anywhere else to deposit a delivery, couriers leave parcels stacked up in corridors, where they often go missing or create a safety hazard for residents. If a property owner doesn’t address the situation, the result could be unhappy residents at the very least. Many PRS blocks exist today without an adequate solution to handle parcel deliveries. Where there isn’t a team of on-site staff to spend considerable time accepting and sortin

Odevo, the fast growing international property management group, strengthens its UK presence as The Vegner Group joins. The move takes Odevo’s homes under management globally to over one million. The Vegner Group is the fifth company joining Odevo this year across Europe and the US.   Vegner Group Limited is a leading residential property management group in the UK managing over 100,000 homes with nationwide reach across 20 office sites. Vegner specialises in Residents Management Company (“RMC”) clients,

Principle will manage estates for exclusive leasehold apartments in a period property at 3 Callow Street in Chelsea, in a post-modernist building at 125 Alban Gate near the Barbican, and in a modern block at 9 Hanover Street near Soho. It will also manage attractive apartments in three period properties in the trendy north London suburb of Camden, at 20 Marquis Road, Rosslyn Hill and Fitzjohns Avenue. The six new contract wins come in the wake of Principle’s London office moving from former Soho premises

National law firm Irwin Mitchell is expanding its Construction & Engineering Team with the recruitment of a new partner, Joanna Preece, who will be based in the firm’s London office. The appointment takes the specialist construction team to fifteen, with four partners and two trainees. The team is led by Mark Clinton and sits within Irwin Mitchell’s Property Division which will now number 30 partners and over 150 qualified lawyers. Jo’s appointment is also a boost to Irwin Mitchell’s property team in Lond

Drum Property Group has released spectacular aerial photography of its G3 Square development in Finnieston, Glasgow, following the completion of the final phase of construction. The drone images show G3 Square’s proximity to the neighbouring SSE Hydro, Scottish Event Campus and the SWG3 entertainment venues - as well as being a short walk to a variety of fashionable bars, restaurants and boutique shops.  Drum has now completed G3 Square with the successful delivery of a £31 million build-to-rent developme

Leading property management company Rendall & Rittner has appointed Alan Todd as Programme Manager to oversee the delivery of its technology transformation project including MyPlace, its market-leading new customer portal. Alan will have responsibility for the implementation of the whole programme across all stakeholders internally and externally. His remit includes co-ordinating the rollout of the system across Rendall & Rittner’s entire portfolio of developments over the next 12 months, ensuring trainin